New Orleans in the Antebellum Era
History The city of New Orleans rich history began in 1718 when it was founded by Frenchman Jean Baptiste le Moyne as an important port city to transfer goods coming into America. New Orleans is named after the Duke of Orleans, Phillipe II who was the ruler of France at the time. After the French-Indian War (1754-1763), the French lost all land east of the Mississippi River to the British and the rest of what we now call Louisiana to the Spanish. For the next 40 years, New Orlean s remained under Spanish control. In 1800, Frenchman Napoleon Bonaparte aquired Louisana from Spain and had plans of reestablishing the French culture in New Orleans. After hearing the news, U.S. President Thomas Jefferson saw this as a possible threat to the possibility of the United States trading along the Mississippi River. After many heated disputes, Bonaparte agreed to sell the entire Louisana territory for 15 million dollars. The important purchase made the once small and weak Independent Colonies a new world superpower. Throughout the 1800's, New Orleans became heavily influenced by the growing slave trade. The transporation of slaves from Africa and the Carribean rocketed New Orleans to one of the richest cities in the Union. As the mid-19th century approached, the cotton-based economies of the south were booming because of a white crop called Cotton. 'Economy' The years from the Louisana Purchase (1803) to the beginning of the Civil War (1861) were prosperous for New Orleans. The vivid growth and and development along with important changes to the New Orleans ecomony happened during this era. These years are, what I consider, the main years of the Antebellum Era. During this era, New Orleans population skyrocketed from 8,000 to 170,000 by the start of the Civil War. From 1810 to 1840, New Orleans grew at a rate faster than any other large American city. The abundant natural resources of the United States set the young republic up for the possibility of a strong economy. As industry continued to grow in the east and agriculture grew in the south, the Mississippi River served as a main route for agricultural pruducts. The 1830's and 1840's growing demand for cotton lead to the development of efficient slave plantations in the Lowland South which produced more cotton at a lower price. The economic rhythm of New Orleans relied heavily on cotton seasons. As cotton was picked and baled from September through December, Cotton shipments in October would hit an annual low then rise to its peak in January. As May approached and most of that years crop already exported summer would bring a rather slow export of cotton. With the scorching heat, falling water levels, numerous diseases and occasional hurricanes many merchants left the city. With the increased output of cotton, a new efficient way of transportation was invented in 1812: the steamboat. Labor was an important part of the New Orleans economy. As cotton and other labor intensive products were booming, so was the demand for skilled labor. For the first four decades of the 19th century blacks, both free and slave, made up a majority of the New Orleans population. However, by 1840, this number dropped to 40% of the population mainly because more blacks were needed in rural cotton and sugar fields. 'Transportation' A large majority of the goods that passed in and out of Louisana and the entire Mississippi Valley came through one of New Orleans highly active ports. For a majority of the Antebellum Era, New Orleans was the United States second largest port behind New York City. New Orleans was a main transfer point for American and foreign goods. From the Upper Midwest came wheat, corn, furs, whiskey and lead along with important goods from the Southwest which included cotton, sugar, molasses and tobacco. All these Antebellum Era staples were transported down the Mississippi River and its tributaries on steamboats, flatboats or keelboats to New Orleans. This merchandise was unloaded and stored or transfered directly to large oceangoing vessels then shipped to Northeast, Europe and the Carribean. In 1826, 287 steamboats arrived in New Orleans. This number would drastically increase to 3,000 boats by 1850. Although most transportation in Antebellum New Orleans was by water, travel and trading also began in the 1820's with the appearance of the railroad. Railroads began to link the Northeast and the Upper Midwest to New Orleans and created a faster, more efficient way to travel and transport goods. The Pontchartrain Railroad was created in 1831 and immediately began carrying passengers and goods from the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans. With the invention of the steamboat and railroad, transportation in New Orleans became more efficient and the goods and services of our young country could be transported throughout the nation. Created by: Connor Kavanaugh